Lighthall: SEC Streak is Dead

PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 06: Florida State Seminoles head coach Jimbo Fisher (L) holds the Coaches' Trophy as quarterback Jameis Winston (center) #5 looks on after defeating the Auburn Tigers 34-31 in the 2014 Vizio BCS National Championship Game at the Rose Bowl on January 6, 2014 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

(Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Florida State’s 34-31 win over Auburn on Monday night in the BCS National Championship brought an end to one of college football’s greatest runs – seven-straight titles by the same conference. And what made the feat even more remarkable was that the SEC had four-different teams hoist the crystal bowl over those seven seasons: Alabama (3), Florida (2), LSU and Auburn. Amazing.

But now it’s over.

And I don’t want to hear any more about great the SEC is.

Ric Flair used to say it the best, “To be the man, you gotta beat the man.” Well, Florida State did just that. They beat the best the SEC had to offer from the 2013 season and now the ‘Noles stand on top of the college football world.

The SEC’s run is in the past. And although I respect the past, I refuse to live in it. The next person that reminds me that the SEC dominated college football from 2006 through 2012 will likely be the next person that tells me how great of an athlete they were in high school. Or how many intramural championships they won in college. Or how they good their fantasy football team was in 2008.

Nobody cares.

Not anymore.

It’s ancient history. It’s in the past.

Remember when Buster Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson? Suddenly Tyson’s reign of terror in the heavyweight division came to a crashing halt. After that night in Tokyo, no one was afraid of Iron Mike anymore.

Maybe Florida State only turns out to be the college football equivalent of Buster Douglas. A short, but shocking, stay on top. But one thing is for certain … the SEC now looks just like Tyson did that night – stunned and confused on the canvas while looking up at the new champ.